Skip to content
Pascal Arnould By Pascal Arnould Software Engineer III

The other day I wanted to bring up the Windows "Program and Features" panel using the run command (Win+R or just start typing in the Start screen in Win 8). Something I've done countless number of times in the past. For some reason, I had a complete blank and couldn't recall what that particular command was. So I thought it would be good to have a couple of tips and some of the most useful run commands for Developers (and everybody else) in one place.

Run… Program

If you enable indexing on your Program Files folders, all your programs will then be available either in the Run dialog or in the Windows 8 start screen.

1. Go to the Control Panel

2. Type in Indexing in the search box

3. Open the Indexing Options dialog

4. Click on Modify and select your Program Files folders

201305241000.jpg

You should then see the folders in the Included Locations list:

201305240947.jpg

Close the Indexing Options window. Once indexing is completed, you can start your programs using the Run dialog.

For example, I can now launch Sublime Text like this:

201305241003.jpg

But did you know?

You can create your own run commands. Here's an example on how to create a run command for Sublime Text.

1.
2. Open the Run Dialog (Win+R) and type in %windir% 3. Once Windows Explorer is open, select New item > Shortcut in the menu (or right-click somewhere in the blank area) 4. Create the shortcut using the wizard specifying the alias for the run command (e.g. st3)

201305232237.jpg

201305232241.jpg

From now on, you will be able to quickly open your program either by typing the command on the start page (if you're using Windows 8) or in the Run Dialog.

Run Commands Cheat sheet

Description

Command

About Windows

winver

Add Hardware Wizard

hdwwiz.cpl

Add/Remove Programs

appwiz.cpl

Administrative Tools

control admintools

Advanced Startup Options

bootim

Advanced User Accounts

netplwiz

Application Data Folder

%appdata%

Authorization manager

azman.msc

Calculator

calc

Certificate Manager

certmgr.msc

Performance Options

systempropertiesperformance

Character Map

charmap

Check Disk Utility

chkdsk

ClearType Tuner

cttune

Colour Management

colorcpl

Command Prompt

Power BI Weekly is a collation of the week's top news and articles from the Power BI ecosystem, all presented to you in one, handy newsletter!

cmd

Compare files

comp

Computer Management

compmgmt.msc

Control Panel

control

Device Manager

devmgmt.msc

Disk Cleanup Utility

cleanmgr

Disk Management

diskmgmt.msc

Disk Partition Manager

diskpart

Screen Resolution

desk.cpl

Display Switch

displayswitch

Ease of Access Center

utilman

Event Viewer

eventvwr.msc

File History

filehistory

Firewall

firewall.cpl

Folders Properties

control folders

Fonts Folder

fonts

Home Drive

%homedrive%

Home Directory

%homepath%

Internet Explorer

iexplore

Internet Options

inetcpl.cpl

Keyboard Properties

control keyboard

Local Group Policy Editor

gpedit.msc

Local Users and Groups

lusrmgr.msc

Log Off Windows

logoff

Magnifier

magnify

Microsoft Management Console

mmc

Microsoft Paint

mspaint

Mouse Properties

control mouse

Network Connections

control netconnections

Notepad

notepad

On Screen Keyboard

osk

Paint

mspaint

Performance Monitor

perfmon

Power Configuration

powercfg.cpl

Program Files folder

%programfiles%

Region and Language Settings

intl.cpl

Registry Editor

regedit

Remote Desktop

mstsc

Restart Windows

shutdown -r

Scheduled Tasks

control schedtasks

Security Center

wscui.cpl

Services

services.msc

Shared Folders

fsmgmt.msc

Shutdown Windows

shutdown

Snipping Tool

snippingtool

Sounds and Audio

mmsys.cpl

Backup/Restore User Names and Passwords

credwiz

System Configuration

msconfig

System Information

msinfo32.

System Properties

sysdm.cpl

Task Manager

taskmgr

Temporary Folder

%temp%

Time and Date Settings

timedate.cpl

User Account Control Settings

useraccountcontrolsettings

Volume Control

sndvol

Windows Explorer

Discover your Power BI Maturity Score by taking our FREE 5 minute quiz.

explorer

Windows PowerShell ISE

powershell_ise

Windows PowerShell

powershell

Windows Root Directory

%windir%

Windows Root Drive

%systemdrive%

WMI Management

wmimgmt.msc

WMI Tester

wbemtest

XPS Viewer

xpsrchvw

This list is intentionally cut down as I don't think a lot of the other commands are that relevant. If you want a more comprehensive list check out one of these links:

Complete List of Windows 8 Run Commands

Run… Command

Pascal Arnould on Twitter

Pascal Arnould

Software Engineer III

Pascal Arnould

He has over 20 years experience of of implementing complex technology solutions across a number of sectors, and is a passionate advocate of Agile practices, continuous learning and engineering excellence.

Pascal worked at endjin from 2013 - 2015.